Groundbreaking cancelled for downtown parking deck

City officials today cancelled a groundbreaking ceremony for a planned downtown parking deck after construction bids came in significantly over budget.

“It has been determined that bids that recently came in for certain projects related to the deck are far too significant to not engage in a re-evaluation and rebid process based on new information relating to concrete prices,” said Lindsley Smith, the city’s communications director, in a news release. “The evaluation relates primarily to millions of dollars involved in the concrete-related parts of this overall project.”

Smith said construction won’t begin without additional analysis of the full funding plan and bid package that is currently in place. Groundbreaking for the project will be rescheduled for a future date, she said.

From the release:

This bid/cost re-evaluation process has been deemed important enough to delay this original date of the commencement of the construction phase on the Spring Street Municipal Parking Deck. Such decision was not made lightly, but was made with the knowledge that such bidding and re-evaluation, to be done wisely, must occur now and is paramount to the groundbreaking kick-off and first phase initiation that was previously scheduled for today.

Discussion

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figures

LOL what another fun chapter to this boondoggle

samk

OF course they did.

MC

Shocking!

WPS!

The City putting the screws to Dickson Street again. When will they ever learn? In other news, Springdale is progressing nicely.

David Franks

Good for Springdale. They have a lot of catching up to do. But how does this (or anything else the city has done) “put the screws to Dickson Street”?

NE

So will the streets open back up as well as the parking lot until such time as construction actually starts? Or is this a repeat of the crane in downtown for 3 years type situation?

Whatever

But the Mayor promised!!!

Newmayor

Fuddville 101.

Taxpayer shorted again

When the city chooses to award a huge taxpayer funded project to one company without taking competitive bids, this is what happens. Taxpayer is shorted again!

Even if the bid accepted wasn’t the lowest (though it usually is), it was my experience in working with relatively large construction projects that the second- or third-lowest bid might have been the better selection, because the lowest bid was so cheaped-out that change orders during construction ended up making the project cost higher than the other bids were.

Government entities really should look at taking the second-lowest bid, rather than the lowest bid, as a general practice.

It’s a shame the project couldn’t have been built in 2009 or 2010. Materials were relatively cheap, and contractors were scrambling for work. Danmed economy back on track. Gee– thanks, Obama!

NoBama!

Ha! Obama is the worst President in history. Time will tell. Wake up!

David Franks

Every time a Teabagger says something stupid like that, an angel gets its wings.

James

That’s cute how you worked a little Obama haterbation into an article upon a local matter that has nothing to do with Obama. It almost makes sense in a Teaparty sort of way

A. Hamilton

David Jurgens resigned last year. Why hasn’t he been replaced? Something doesn’t seem right. Is Lindsley Smith in charge now?

David Franks

Why are you asking me? Why don’t you call the city and ask them?

Loser

David Frankentroll.

Taxpayer shorted

The City received no hard number “bids” during their selection of a contractor. They only received experience and past performance info. So, the City picked one contractor out of eleven based on that information. Effectively loosing a potential eleven concrete bids making it a competitive bid process.

art vandelay

You know nothing about construction or the process… The city selected a general contractor to manage the project through design and construction. All major trades including concrete were competitively bid and open to any qualified sub-contractor. Poor estimating maybe, but to claim otherwise is a bit misinformed.

David Franks

You are correct– the contractors submitted their qualifications. Baldwin & Shell won the contract based on their qualifications, including their experience with two parking garages at the U of A, and a good record of bringing projects in on budget. Part of their expertise and satisfactory record is keeping expenses as low as possible, which of course means, as already pointed out, that competitive bids are an integral part of the construction process.

I talked to Jeremy Pate yesterday. He said that some of the bids for concrete work came in lower than they thought they might. He also noted that concrete work is expensive regionally, that contractors already have a lot of work because there is a lot of construction going on now, and that the relatively size of this parking garage prevents bids from more distant contractors and keeps the bids relatively high.

Ifthelovefits

Typical. Hands off the wheel!

A. Hamilton

What is it about parking and backing up in this town?

TRB

Too much of making sure cross dressers don’t get their feelings hurt and not enough of actually running a city on display here